1st Class Countertop Company

1 out of 5 stars. First, we want to briefly commend the quality of the actual workmanship of the granite countertops installed by Randy Shores, owner of 1st Class Countertops. They are beautiful and we are pleased with them. There was only one seam, and the granite was so well matched by Randy that it appears almost seamless. The work ethic of Randy and his son Randy, Jr., and their working relationship, are highly commendable. We actually visited Randy’s shop to deliver our signed contract, pick out our new sink, and leave the required 50% front-end deposit. We genuinely like him, and we were initially quite excited about doing business with him. The second and most important part of our review is about the clean-up fiasco that came afterward, the unbelievable demo and installation mess left behind for us to deal with. This was due to Randy’s cutting the opening for the stovetop inside the house with no protective barrier. Absolutely nothing was cleaned up after the installation by Randy and his son. It’s now almost three weeks after their installation as I write this review, and we’re still cleaning up, hiring outside help, and dealing with the toxic granite dust that settled into and on literally everything. The fine dust covered not only everything in the kitchen itself where the new counters were installed, but also — with our home’s open floor plan — in the entrance area, the music room with a grand piano, the dining area, an open hallway, our living room, and the den which has a vaulted ceiling. Only the three bedrooms with closed doors were spared; every other room in our home and literally everything in them were covered in a thick layer of toxic granite dust. Everything from the ceiling fans and chandeliers, down to the Oriental rugs and hardwood floors, and everything else in between, were totally covered with a thick layer of the fine, toxic granite dust. All the door frames and baseboards, valuable works of art, a rare books collection, the grand piano, an acoustic guitar, and more than 20 pieces of heirloom furniture (including 13 upholstered chairs and sofas), were covered with the toxic dust. All the curtains and drapes for eleven windows were totally permeated with the dust, requiring removal, cleaning, and re-hanging. The damage to our home is overwhelming! Randy had received a very high recommendation from a trusted source where our slabs of granite were purchased, and we read every review on his website from previous customers. Almost all of the reviews were glowing, and the parts we were particularly interested in and most impressed by were the consistent reports of his thorough clean-up afterward. Here are few verbatim quotes from those reviews: The Team of Randy and Randy Jr. came in and took out the old countertops without making a big mess; . . . they even clean up everything before they leave; They did an excellent job cleaning up after the job; I expected to come home to a mess, but everything was as clean as it was when I left this morning. I couldn't be happier. I was completely satisfied with every detail. They cleaned up every little mess . . ., etc. We had every reasonable belief and expectation that these glowing, excellent reviews reflected the quality of what we were to expect from Randy and 1st Class Countertops. Nothing could have been further from the truth! In addition to already hiring six men to assist us, we’ve personally spent more than 150 total man-hours on the massive clean-up over these past three weeks, and there is still considerably more to do. Christmas is just three days away as I write this, and there is no way we can possibly complete the huge clean-up. We’ve already spent more than $1,000 out-of-pocket on this clean-up, more than half of it paid to immediately have our duct work and all vents cleaned out, because it was quickly determined that the granite dust was continuing to circulate throughout the entire system and into every room of our home. Randy, in fact, did not even cover the vents in the immediate work area when he was cutting the granite opening for the stovetop. The colossal mess Randy left us with hit us, as we approach the holidays, at the worst possible time! We are 75 years old and have a number of serious health issues, including lung problems and chronic heart failure. And both of us tested Covid19-positive back in November; and even though we’re well beyond the time to quarantine and thankfully seem to be on the road to recovery, the virus took a physical and emotional toll. We’re still not fully back to normal, and the health implications of what Randy did are beyond staggering. When you inhale the silica dust particles, they scar your lungs causing a disabling, irreversible, and incurable lung disease called silicosis. Randy and his son wore state-of-the-art masks and gear to protect themselves as they were cutting the granite! But nothing whatsoever was done to protect our home, our furniture and possessions, and — most importantly — our physical health. We and our home were not protected in any way; and we were egregiously violated by Randy’s decision to cut the stovetop opening inside our home while doing absolutely nothing whatsoever to contain the thick, toxic dust cloud that erupted. We sincerely hope this review will be constructive for Randy and for all who read it. Communication is the key, we believe, and we see in retrospect that sufficient, honest and open communication was almost entirely lacking. There was nothing at all in the contract we signed about cutting the granite inside our home and providing no protective barrier. We were only told to clear out all the kitchen cabinets, which we did. And we covered everything in the kitchen with protective sheets. But we had no knowledge whatsoever that a thick cloud of toxic granite dust would be generated and allowed to settle throughout six rooms of our home! Because of a business insurance matter, Randy showed up for the job three hours later that he originally told us he would start, and night had fallen by the time the job was completed. And then they just left, and no clean-up took place. Fortunately, the opening for the stainless steel sink we purchased from Randy was cut off-site; but the opening for the stovetop was cut right in our kitchen and that’s where and why this huge problem occurred. A sister had new granite counters put in earlier this year, and the workman built a tent of heavy-mill plastic sheeting 360 degrees around him from floor to ceiling as he cut a similar opening inside. When we discussed this protective measure with Randy, after he’d returned to deal with a couple of other important issues that had to be addressed, he kept referring to the “industry standards” insisting he always follows those standards. But the “industry standards” for installing granite countertops clearly say to cut all openings either off-site or outside; or, if they must be cut inside, all necessary protective measures to completely contain the toxic dust must be taken. Randy said he’d never heard of such a thing, so we showed him pictures of what’s required, and he told us he’d never seen anything like that before! But every single source we’ve read or spoken with says you must never allow a thick cloud of toxic granite dust to be generated and settle on everything, as he literally did in our home. Randy should have carefully explained his process to us in complete detail ahead of time, and he should have completely warned us in full detail about the inevitable outcome. It is definitely not the “industry standard” to leave the toxic mess behind when he leaves. Randy provided no protection whatsoever for us, our home, and all our belongings. None at all! And we’ve been left, at age 75 in a weakened condition, to literally pick up the pieces and clean up this huge mess. Randy, to his credit, eventually rebated $200 to help cover the costs of our massive clean-up; but as those costs continue to mount, that sum while sincerely appreciated, seems, quite honestly, a drop in the bucket. Never having gone through anything like this before in our life, we tried to do the research and ask all the right questions on the front end. But we simply and ultimately placed our trust in the experience and professionalism of this young man and his company. And we have paid a very great price for doing so -- for his cutting the stovetop opening inside our home with no protective measures taken and his total lack of communication with us about that. The complete lack of understanding which resulted from that poor communication left our home and our property and our health terribly violated. All potential customers of 1st Class Countertops, or any other installers, who read this should learn from our most unfortunate experience and only go with a company that will take all the professional measures necessary to protect you and the integrity of your home.






Not good.Very poor installation, used scrap.materials and not professional at all.WILL NOT EVERY USE THEM AGAIN

First of all - Randy responded to my initial email quickly and was only a text away during the whole process. I couldn't have asked for a more professional job and the granite looks beautiful. And - 1st class came in under all the other estimates by at least $400!! We are very pleased!

It started out a little rough. Randy and I had a little bit of trouble communicating. He seems like a nice guy, but maybe had too much going on at once. My husband stepped in and then everything went smoothly until he miss measured the backsplash in the master bath. He was supposed to make it slightly taller so we wouldn't have to paint. He did offer to pay for the paint which was nice. We tried to color match the paint so that we wouldn't have to paint the whole bathroom, but that didn't work. Anyway, after we painted the bathroom Randy came back to finish the job. We also noticed that there was a problem with the sealer on the kitchen counters and the seam was very dull. He came back a third time and corrected it. There was one additional problem with the bathroom counter that wasn't corrected. We would not recommend this company.

Communication throughout the process was great. I like that I dealt with Randy, the owner the entire time. If I had any questions I could text him directly or email. He came out and measured my countertops and got a quote back to me quickly. He answered all my questions and communicated all changes. One thing that came up was the L shape in my counter where one end is very large and bulky and the other is narrow for the kitchen sink. They had to put a seam in to avoid having it break during installation and transit. I was a bit worried but I understood the issue. I didn't need to worry as 1st Class Countertops made sure to match the granite pattern at the seem, made the seem flat and narrow and placed it where it would be harder to see. You can't see the seam unless you're looking for it. As with anything in a home, there were issues that came up with how the builder installed my cabinets. The wall for the counter cantilever was actually too short. 1st Class Countertops took there time to resolve all the issues to make sure the countertops were installed solidly and so I wouldn't have issues later. They put in all the reinforcements I needed to ensure it would last. They hauled away all my old countertops and cleaned up when they were done. Randy and Alex did a great job and I couldn't be happier.

We recently bought a new cooktop for our kitchen, and the cutout in our granite countertop was too small. We called Randall on a Thursday morning, and we explained what we needed. Also informed him that we worked during the day, and asked if he could accommodate after hours service. He immediately said he would be happy to come out on a Saturday and complete it for us. We settled on 10 am, and he was at our front door at 9:59. He had our cutout modified in about 60 minutes. There was a little dust and mess involved, but no more than what we expected. He cleaned up to our satisfaction. He then cleaned and sealed our entire countertop at no charge. Randall is a top notch guy, and I would recommend him to anyone looking for countertop service. We are planning to replace our bathroom vanities with granite, and we will be calling him to handle it.

It went great! Randy was there at the time he said he would, with one other guy. The two of them got busy and within a few hours I had my new beautiful granite countertop! I was worried about a seam in my countertop, but they did such a great job, I almost can't even see it! This was the best job I had ever seen. Believe me, I had been checking out every countertop I came across to see how the seam was done and there are some people out there professionally installing granite countertops and I would be ashamed of myself for doing such a poor job and calling it professional. I am so happy with my granite countertop and Randy gave me such an awesome price, I have enough money to go Christmas shopping!! Thank you Randy!!

It all went well and without problems.

We were extremely pleased with Randy's work. He gave us an excellent price, good service and did a very good job. We would highly recommend his company to anyone. No complaints here only compliments. Take care